M1 Abrams

Tank Urban Survival Kit for M1A2

M1A2 with TUSK

The Tank Urban Survival Kit, or TUSK, is a series of improvements to the M1 Abrams intended to improve fighting ability in urban environments. Historically, urban and other close battlefields have been the worst place for tanks to fightâ€"a tank's front armor is much stronger than that on the sides, top, or rear, and in an urban environment, attacks can come from any direction, and attackers can get close enough to reliably hit weak points in the tank's armor, or get sufficient elevation to hit the top armor square on.

Armor upgrades include reactive armor on the sides of the tank and slat armor (similar to that on the Stryker) on the rear to protect against rocket-propelled grenades and other shaped charge warheads.

A gun shield and a thermal sight system are added to the loader's top-mounted M240B 7.62 mm machine gun, and a Kongsberg Gruppen Remote Weapon Turret carrying a .50 caliber machine gun (again similar to that used on the Stryker) is in place of the tank commander's original .50 caliber machine gun mount, wherein the commander had to expose himself to fire the weapon manually. An exterior telephone allows supporting infantry to communicate with the tank commander.

The TUSK system is a field-installable kit that allows tanks to be upgraded without needing to be recalled to a maintenance depot.

While the reactive armor may not be needed in most situations in maneuver warfare, items like the rear slat armor, loader's gun shield, infantry phone (which has already seen use on Marine Corps M1A1s as early as 2003), and Kongsberg Remote Weapons Station for the .50 caliber machine gun will be added to the entire M1A2 fleet over time.

In addition to this, a Transparent Armor Gun Shield may also be implemented.

Variants and kits

M1A1 with mine plow from 1995 or earlier

* XM1 Experimental model; nine test-beds were produced in 1978.
* M1 First production variant. Production began in 1979 and continued to 1985.
** M1IP (Improvement Production) Produced briefly in 1984 before the M1A1, contained upgrades and reconfigurations.
* M1A1 Production started in 1986 and continued to 1992.
** M1A1HC (Heavy Common) adding new depleted uranium armor mesh, pressurized NBC system and M256 120 mm smoothbore cannon.
** M1A1-D (Digital) A digital upgrade for the M1A1HC, to keep up with M1A2 SEP.
** M1A1-AIM (Abrams Integrated Management) A program whereby older units are reconditioned to zero hour conditions [1].
** M1A1 KVT (Krasnovian Variant Tank) M1A1's that have been visually modified to resemble Soviet-made tanks for use at the National Training Center.
* M1A2 (Baseline) Production began in 1992.
* M1A2 SEP (System Enhancment Package).
* M1 Grizzly Engineer Vehicle [2].
* M1 Panther II Remote Controlled Mine Clearing Vehicle [3].
* M104 Wolverine Heavy Assault Bridge [4].
* M1 Mine Clearing Blade System.
* M1 Mine Clearing Roller System.
* TUSK Tank Urban Survival Kit.

Specifications of variants

Model	M1	IPM1	M1A1	M1A2	M1A2 SEP
Length	32.04 ft (9.77 m)	32.04 ft (9.77 m)	32.04 ft (9.77 m)	32.04 ft (9.77 m)	32.04 ft (9.77 m)
Width	12 ft (3.66 m)	12 ft (3.66 m)	12 ft (3.66 m)	12 ft (3.66 m)	12 ft (3.66 m)
Height	7.79 ft (2.37 m)	7.79 ft (2.37 m)	8.0 ft (2.44 m)	8.0 ft (2.44 m)	8.0 ft (2.44 m)
Top speed	45 mph (72 km/h)	45 mph (72 km/h)	41.5 mph (67 km/h)	41.5 mph (67 km/h)	42 mph (68 km/h)
Range	498 km (310 mi)		465 km (288 mi)	391 km (243 mi)
Weight	61.4 short tons (55.7 tonnes)	62.8 short tons (57.0 tonnes)	67.6 short tons (61.3 tonnes)	68.4 short tons (62.1 tonnes)	69.5 short tons (63.0 tonnes)
Main armament	105 mm M68 rifled tank gun	105 mm	120 mm M256 smoothbore tank gun	120 mm	120 mm
Crew	4	4	4	4	4

See also

* List of "M" series military vehicles
* List of tanks

References

* King of the Killing Zone by Orr Kelly, 1989. W.W. Norton Company.
*
* Army Times - Two soldiers die in attack on Abrams tank, October 29, 2003
*DoD News: DoD Identifies Army Casualty - Dec 25, 2005 attack
*DoD News: DoD Identifies Army Casualties - June 04, 2006 incident

External links

* M1A1/A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank Information
* Main Battle Tank M1A1 Abrams
* M1A1 Abrams, M1A2 Abrams, M1A2 SEP Abrams at army-guide.com
* Army Fact File
* Anatomy of an M1 Abrams
* howstuffworks page on the M1 Abrams, with a detailed overview of how the tank works